The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-10-01
AN INFAMOUS SCHEME.


How Opium Takers Are Swindled by Al
legged Curers of the Habit.
"Do you see that advertisements" OBJ.
served a leading medical specialist in
nerve diseases to New York Mail and
Express reporter, as he pointed to slip
of paper in an open letter he held in his
hand.
The advertisement read as follows:
The opium habit cured, without pain. No
pay until the cure is complete viii prescribe
TO victims of the habit in their own homes by
correspondence All correspondence strictly
coafdsntial. Address an Old Physician, Box
-, Station -, New York City.
''What of it,"
at is one of the most Infamous schemes
of blackmail know Of"
Chow so?"
''You may not know that the habit of
taking morphine and opium as a rule is
confined to persons of some social stand
ing. 1t is not like drinking or other vul-
gar vices. Another thing you may not
know is the extreme secretiveness of an
opium user. He will jeopardize his inn
mortal soul dozen times day to prevent
his weakness from being made public. Do
you see now what an ingenious blackmail-
ing scheme this advertisement isl"
mot exactly"
swell, l will explain it to you as l know
it to be. This precious scoundrel, under
standing the weakness of the people ne has
to deal with, cunningly devises plan by
which he is almost certain to reap golden
reward. He is not doctor, of course, and
has no cure for the opium habit. His ad-
vertisment is worded so that it will bring
out personal letters of inquiry in which
the names and addresses of the victims
are disclosed"
'What does he do with them:"
''Sends them to an accomplice in this
city, meanwhile keeping up his cores
pondence with his victims, drawing them
out and obtaining all the damaging in-
formation regarding their disease that he
can. His accomplish now inves-
tigates their social and finan-
cial positions. If satisfactory, he calls
at their residences, and, arranging Il
private interview on some pretex or other,
proceeds to demand money to secure his
silence. He generally tells them that the
''doctor' formerly employed him as coach
man or butler, and that while in the house
he discovered those letters which had
been written; that his employer had dis
charged him on that account, or possibly
on some other, and he is perfectly reck-
less and wants money or he will expose
them. You see, it would never do for him
to expose the doctor. That would kill the
goose that lays the golden egg. The ac-
complete, therefore, takes the entire re.
sponsibility on his own shoulders.
"Nine times out of ten," continued the
physician, 'the patient pays money
rather than have his condition known to
his family and the world"
"Why dosen't the victim protest against
this blackmail?"
''He does sometimes, but only when his
family happens to know of his weakness.
Then he can defy the blackmailer. This,
however, is seldom the case. This letter [
have is from the father of one of my fe-
male patients whom | am breaking of the
opium habit. The blackmailer called on
his daughter and succeeded in extorting,
all told about five hundred dollars from
her. Her father discovered one of the let
tiers he wrote for money and then consulted
with me-"
81 suppose you had the fellow arrested
at once"
"By no means. That would expose the
family secret which the father no less
than his daughter is most anxious to con-
ceal. "No," continued the doctor, with
sigh. "The only thing that can be done is
to give the scoundrel good thrashing
and warn him to keep away from the
house in future. An arrest and trial
would be the one thing they most care to
avoid. All! It's wicked world, eh."